‘Black Panther’ Concept Art Reveals Comics Version of Klaue’s Blaster

After debuting in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Andy Serkis returned to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Ulysses Klaue as part of the record-smashing Black Panther.

The villain looked a lot different from his counterpart in the Marvel Comics, though he did sport his sonic arm cannon. This version was more high-tech than what fans of the Black Panther comics might be used to, as it appeared as a prosthetic that could open up to project blasts.

But it turns out Marvel Studios artists designed a different version for the film to resemble how Klaw‘s cannon looks in the source material.

Rodney Fuentebella worked with Marvel Studios Head of Visual Development Ryan Meinerding on Black Panther, creating concepts for various characters, costumes, and more, including Erik Killmonger and the young King T’Chaka. He also helped establish the design of Klaue’s arm cannon.

One design shows that it didn’t have the fleshy appearance of skin, but almost employed a Vibranium appearance of Black Panther’s armor. The other shows that Klaue had an arm cannon that looked like the original design by creators Jack Kirby.

Klaue originally had both hands in Avengers: Age of Ultron, until the titular villain lost its temper on the arms dealer when he made a comparison to Tony Stark. He then resurfaced as an ally to Erik Killmonger in Black Panther.

Killmonger later betrayed Klaue and used his body as a means to gain access to Wakanda, as Klaue had been wanted for stealing Vibranium and committing terrorist acts on the population.

While Serkis is unlikely to appear again in a future Marvel Studios movie, his character did have a longer run comparable to most villains in the cinematic universe. Many are “one and done,” with the exception of Loki and Thanos, both of whom have had more substantial roles in the MCU.

It’s interesting to see the artists involved with establishing the visual identity of the movies try to commit to the source material while balancing cinematic sensibilities. Though the design for the “classic” sonic cannon would have been neat, the character’s appearance in the film with the prosthetic arm was probably the best way to go to fit into a world with Tony Starks and Shuris, what with all their super science running amok.

Black Panther is now playing in theaters.

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